Light at the End of the Tunnel
by MusicFreak814
Summary: Sequel to Perfect Imperfections. This story has been a WIP for a long time and I've finally gotten around to editing it well enough to start posting... Follows the lives of the golden trio, the Weasley's and Ashleigh Scott through the war and thereafter. Please R&R :)
1. Prologue

**A/N: This is the sequel to Perfect Imperfections; you should read that one before this one so everything makes sense, but you don't have to. I hope you enjoy it**

 **This story also skips through time quite a bit.**

Six months went by and everything went down on May 2nd, 1998. It turned into a full on war and raging bloodbath of people from both the good and bad sides. Everyone who was in the Order showed up and fought, as did many students. A lot of lives were lost that day, including Fred and George Weasley.

Ashleigh was fighting near the twins when she saw a wall come crumbling down on top of them. She couldn't believe what she had witnessed; she did her best to clear the fallen stone once the area was clear. The seize fire was called by Voldemort and all bodies were moved into the Great Hall. Ashleigh freaked out when she saw the boys, as did the rest of the Weasley's and Hermione. Harry couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Ashleigh couldn't take it, so she left after giving them one last hug. She walked out of the front door, down the path, over the bridge and disapparated. She went to the first place she thought of, her Aunt's house. No one was there, her aunt and Ethan had gone into hiding, but she didn't know where else to go. She went to her room and packed a suitcase, with the intention of going home to Canada and starting a new life. She couldn't imagine life without George, but she would do her best.

Ashleigh booked a last minute flight and boarded her plane a few hours later. The flight was about 8 or 9 hours and once she landed in Canada, she didn't know where to go. She still had her bank account with savings from before she left so she went to the closest hotel. She decided she'd play it by ear and pay day-to-day as she didn't know what would happen in the coming days.

Once she got up to her room, she got into a nice warm bath and just cried. She cried until she couldn't cry anymore. She couldn't believe he was gone, but even more, she couldn't believe she just left the best life she ever had.

* * *

Back at Hogwarts, the war had resumed, Voldemort thought he had finished Harry Potter, but he was wrong. In the end Harry had ended Voldemort and his reign. After he was gone, everyone went back into the Great Hall and mourned over the ones they lost.

"They can't be dead", Molly sobbed as she kneeled in front of her twin boys. Hermione kneeled beside Fred and moved his hair from in front of his eyes, sobbing as well.

"Where's Ashleigh?" Ginny asked, through her tears. They all looked around and couldn't see her anywhere. Their hearts dropped into their stomachs, jumping to the worst conclusion.

"She can't be… Not her too", Molly said, still crying.

"She'll turn up… She has too", Hermione mumbled.

"We'll find her when this chaos calms down a bit", Harry told them.

A few hours later and they had searched the castle and the grounds but to no avail. They didn't know where she would have gone. She was with them before the battle resumed and saw what happened to the twins and then just disappeared.

"I think she ran away", Hermione told them. They all looked at her for an explanation. "She was here before the battle resumed, she saw what happened to the twins, it happened right in front of her. I don't think she could handle it". Everyone nodded to let her know that they understood what she meant.

They heard a faint cough and looked around for who it might be. Seeing that there was no one left in the Great Hall, Hermione leaned down to Fred's chest and felt his chest was moving. "Fred's alive!" She yelled. Ginny did the same thing with George.

"George is too", Ginny said and started sobbing again.

Both twins slowly opened their eyes and blinked a few times. They saw everyone's faces, staring at them. "Who died?" George asked.

"We thought you two did!" Molly shrieked, hugging her boys.

"Unless you all are dead as well, then we're alive", Fred told them. "Ow", he said as Molly squeezed him.

* * *

The Weasley's, Harry and Hermione took the twins to St. Mungo's to have them checked out. It turned out that they had broken almost all of their ribs when the wall had landed on them. George broke his leg, knee and ankle, Fred broke his arm. They both had major concussions from hitting their heads when they fell and were told they couldn't be left alone. They were given potions they had to take that would help mend the bones and fix the concussions, but because of the severity, it could take a while and be very painful.

"Where's Ashleigh?" George asked once they had gotten home a couple days later, George now on crutches. He was concerned when she never came to visit him in the hospital.

"We… We don't know", Hermione told him. "We couldn't find her anywhere. She wasn't amongst the lost and we didn't see her hiding or her body anywhere in the castle or grounds. I think she ran away, because we thought you guys were dead", Hermione explained. George's face paled.

"Did someone look at her Aunt's house?" George asked. They all looked at each other.

"I can't believe we didn't think of that", Hermione mumbled, smacking herself in the forehead. "I'll go", she added. She grabbed floo powder and headed off. She got back to Tracie's and found Tracie sitting there with Ethan.

"Hermione?" She asked.

"Have you seen Ashleigh? She disappeared from the battle and no one can find her", Hermione told her.

"She was here, before Ethan and I came out of hiding. She left me a note, saying she was going back home. She asked me not to tell anyone, but I want her to come back here", Tracie told her.

"I'll go find her. I'll try to get an international portkey to Canada. Ontario, right?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. I'm assuming Toronto. That's the closest airport to where she used to live", Tracie told her. "Thank you Hermione".

"Not a problem. She needs to come back to see something", Hermione said. She said her goodbyes and flooed to the Ministry of Magic. It had only been a couple days, so the Ministry was still way out of order, but she hoped they would allow her to use an international portkey without filling out all the paperwork.

"Miss Granger, I am only doing this because you were involved in the taking down of Voldemort. I am not allowed to do this but since everything is so in the air right now, I will do it just this once", the lady in charge of international portkey's told her.

"Thank you", Hermione smiled. She didn't like that it was being done because she helped defeat Voldemort, but she had to bring Ashleigh back. They gave her 24 hours before the portkey would return on its own. But she could activate it early if she wanted or needed too.


	2. Toronto

Hermione arrived in Toronto and tried to figure out where Ashleigh would have gone. She had some muggle money, but not in Canadian currency so the first thing she did was go to the place that did exchanges near where the portkey left her. After that, she decided to check hotels first. She went to three hotels, asking if Ashleigh Scott had registered there, but they all didn't have someone by that name. She went to a fourth one and walked up to the desk.

"Excuse me?" She said, the clerk looked at her. "I was wondering if you could tell me if an Ashleigh Scott is registered here." She asked.

"I'm sorry, I can't give out that information", she told her.

"I've been to three other hotels and they told me she wasn't there. She ran away and I need to find her. Please", Hermione nearly begged, allowing the tears to fall. She stood there silently with tears rolling down her face for a few minutes and the woman behind the counter finally gave in.

"She's in room 400, on the fourth floor", she whispered.

"Thank you so much", Hermione smiled. Hermione went up to the fourth floor and found room 400. She knocked a few times and heard shuffling on the other side, then locks clicking. The door slowly opened and Hermione saw Ashleigh.

"What're you doing here?" Ashleigh mumbled. Hermione pulled her into her arms. "And how did you find me?"

"Your aunt told me you left a note saying that you were coming here and I had to find you. Plus, your aunt really wants you to go home", Hermione told her.

"This is my home", Ashleigh mumbled as she shut the door. They went inside and sat down.

"No, no it's not. Not anymore. Your home is with us", Hermione told her. Ashleigh shook her head.

"It's not home. Not without George", she said, still shaking her head.

"That's what I needed to find you for. George is alive", Hermione told her. "So is Fred".

"No, no, no. I saw it with my own eyes. The wall _fell_ on them. They were crushed", Ashleigh said, tears falling as she relived the painful memory.

"But they didn't die. They had many broken bones, but they're _alive_ ", Hermione told her. Ashleigh still shook her head. "Please, come back with me. I'll prove it to you. If I'm lying, you can leave again. Just please come back with me right now", Hermione pleaded with Ashleigh. Ashleigh sat there for a while, thinking.

"Okay, I'll come. But I'm not staying for long", Ashleigh said, grabbing her suitcase and repacking it. She checked out of the hotel and followed Hermione to the portkey and she activated it earlier than the 24-hour mark.

In a matter of minutes, they were standing in the Ministry of Magic. They flooed to Tracie's house and she was all over Ashleigh, so happy she was home.

"I'm not staying", Ashleigh told her. "I realized leaving the way I did was wrong. So I came back to say goodbye to everyone".

"Ashleigh, please stay. I don't know why you even left", Tracie said.

"George is dead Aunt Tracie and I don't wanna live in this world without him, but since I have too, I won't do it in England", Tracie gasped.

"I've told you Ashleigh, him and Fred didn't die. They were unconscious when you saw them", Hermione told her again. Ashleigh just shook her head and grabbed floo powder so she could say goodbye to the Weasley's. Hermione went first.

"Hermione!" Molly shrieked.

"Where's George? I found Ashleigh, but she doesn't believe me that he didn't die", Hermione told her. A few minutes later Ashleigh came through the fireplace.

"Ashleigh! So good to see you. We were worried sick", Molly said, hugging her.

"It's nice to see you too. But I'm not staying; I'm going back to Canada. I just came to say goodbye and apologize about the way I left the first time", Ashleigh said.

"Why won't you stay?" Molly asked.

"Because…" She started but the tears returned. "Because I can't imagine a life without him so I don't want to stay here where I'll be reminded of him at everything I look at every day", Ashleigh explained.

"Oh dear, don't cry. Come have a cup of tea", Molly said.

George was sitting at the kitchen table and could hear the conversation in the living room. They walked through the door and Ashleigh was looking at the floor.

"Can't imagine a life without whom?"

"Geor-" She broke off as she lifted her head and saw who spoke. "George", she whispered and froze to her spot. "No. I saw you and Fred get crushed by that wall. You died, right in front of me!"

"Afraid we didn't", Fred said, walking up behind her, making her jump a little.

"If this is some sick joke", she glared at Hermione.

"It's not, love", George told her. He wanted to get up but he couldn't yet stand on his leg so he gestured for her to come over to him. She slowly walked over and sat down beside him at the kitchen table. She looked at him in disbelief. He took her face in his hands and kissed her.

"It _is_ you", she whispered, tears of joy started streaming down her cheeks as she pulled him in for another kiss. The others were all happy that Ashleigh was back and would be staying.

"Of course it's me", he whispered after she broke the long lasting kiss.

"I saw you though. You both got crushed by the wall", she said.

"We did. But it didn't kill us. It probably would have if you didn't lift the stone off of us", George told her, she gave him a look. "I hadn't passed out yet and I saw you levitating the stone", he told her.

"Oh… I'm so glad you're okay", she whispered, hugging him.

"So am I. I love you", he whispered, hugging her back.

"I love you too", she smiled. The rest of the people in the house were standing in awe, watching the scene in front of them.


	3. Surprise

Since Ashleigh returned the previous week and found out George was alive, they were inseparable. Always together and shared a bed at night. Once the twins were well enough, they returned to their flat in Diagon Alley and reopened the shop. Ashleigh was going to her aunt's house for a couple weeks and she knew it was gonna be hard, being away from George.

"I'll miss you", George said as she gave him a kiss before flooing to Tracie's house.

"I'll miss you too", she said and disappeared. "I'm here", Ashleigh called out. Ethan came running into the living room and gave her a hug. "Hey bud", she smiled.

"Hi", he smiled back.

"Where's your mom?" Ashleigh asked.

"In the kitchen. She's getting dinner ready". Ashleigh walked into the kitchen and found Tracie setting the table.

"Hey", Tracie said.

"Hi", Ashleigh smiled. "Dinner smells yummy".

"Thank you dear. I'm glad you've come for a visit. We've missed you around here", Tracie told her.

"I've missed you guys too", Ashleigh smiled.

They sat down for dinner and dessert. Afterwards Ashleigh played some muggle video games with Ethan and then went to bed.

The next morning, Ashleigh decided she needed to go to the doctor to make sure of something. She got ready and headed to St. Mungos, just telling her aunt that she had business she needed to take care of. She waited for about an hour before being seen by a healer. Finally a healer came into the room she was placed in and she explained her situation so they ran a couple tests on her. Another twenty minutes went by and she came back with the results.

"You're suspicions and home test were accurate. You are indeed pregnant Miss Scott. Congratulations", she smiled. Ashleigh just sat there, staring into nothingness. She finally looked at the healer.

"How far?" Ashleigh whispered.

"It looks like you're about 3 months along", she told her. She gave her all the information she needed and told her what pills/vitamins she needed to take and made her an appointment for her first scan in a few weeks.

She was completely in a daze when she went home. She went straight to her room. She didn't know how she would tell George or how it even happened. She practically lived with the twins, so obviously things were going to happen but she wracked her brain and couldn't remember a single time where they didn't use a contraceptive charm. She laid down and eventually she fell asleep.

Tracie woke her up a few hours later for dinner. Tracie could see something was wrong and asked her about it. But she wasn't gonna force her if Ashleigh didn't want to talk about it. She just encouraged her to talk to someone, whether it be with her, Hermione or George.

* * *

The next two weeks went by rather slowly and Ashleigh still couldn't figure out how to tell George that she was three months pregnant. She was due to return to the twins' flat that afternoon and she was excited to see George, but was scared about how he would react. Ashleigh showered and packed up her stuff, leaving it in the living room while she got some lunch. An hour later and she was standing in the twins' flat but they weren't there. She assumed they were in the shop, so she went down there.

She went down the stairs into the joke shop and found it packed with customers. She walked through the crowd, looking for one or both of the twins. She finally found Fred helping a few younger kids pick out some pranks.

"Hey you", Fred smiled, giving Ashleigh a friendly hug.

"Hey. Have you seen George?" She asked.

"I think he's in the back room".

"Okay, thanks", Ashleigh smiled and headed to the back room. George was indeed in there, with his back to the door. So she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Hey, you're back", he smiled after turning to see her. He hugged her back before kissing her lightly on the lips.

"Yeah, what time are you closing today?"

"Same time, 6:00", he smiled. Ashleigh nodded. "Why?"

"I need to talk to you about something important. But I don't want to bother you while you're working", she told him.

"Are you sure?" He asked. She nodded. George didn't like the sound of what she had said, he thought that she was gonna break up with him but he didn't know why. Ashleigh went upstairs and started to plan what she'd make herself and the twins for dinner. Once she had decided she started preparing it. The boys wouldn't be home for another couple hours, but it would take a while for dinner to be ready. At 6:00, Fred came into the flat, just as she was serving dinner.

"George is just closing up, he'll be here in a few", Fred told her as he washed his hands. "Smells great", he added, sitting down.

"Thank you", she smiled. George came in a few minutes later, washed up and joined them at the table.

"Looks great", he told Ashleigh.

"Thank you", she smiled. He could tell something was off and bothering her.

"So what did you wanna talk about?" He asked, digging into his food.

"I'd rather talk about it privately, after dinner", she told him. He nodded and continued eating. After dinner, Ashleigh disappeared to George's room.

"What's going on?" Fred whispered.

"I haven't got a clue", George whispered back and then went to his room, shutting the door behind him. Ashleigh cast a silencing charm on the room and sat on the bed, anxiously bouncing her leg up and down. "Ashleigh, what's going on?"

"You might want to sit down", she whispered. He did so and took her hands in his.

"Ashleigh?" He asked, after seeing tears start to fall.

"I didn't mean for it to happen, I swear. It just did and I don't know what to do", she babbled as the tears fell harder.

"Please slow down. Tell me what's going on", she looked him right in the eye and didn't know how to say it. She didn't want to ruin his life at the ripe age of 20 and especially when his career as a business owner is still taking off.

"You're gonna hate me", she whispered.

"I could never hate you", he said, wrapping his arms around her. "But you're really starting to scare me".

"I… I'm".

"You're what?"

"Pregnant", she whispered before getting up and running out of the bedroom.

"Ashleigh, wait!" George called and ran after her. Fred was just sitting in the living room wondering what happened. George kept running after her and calling her name. She ran out the front door, down the stairs and into Diagon Alley. George was almost caught up to her when she disapparated.

"George, what's going on?" Fred asked, running out the door behind him.

"I have to go find her", George said, disapparating. He landed in the living room of Tracie's home, figuring this was where Ashleigh went. "Is Ashleigh here?" George asked Ethan.

"Yeah, she was upset so mum went to see what was wrong", Ethan told her. George nodded and went upstairs and to Ashleigh's room. He knocked on the door and heard Tracie tell him to come in.

"She won't talk to me. I know something's been bothering her, but I haven't been able to get her to talk to me", Tracie explained as George walked in.

"It's okay, I'll talk to her. I know what's going on", George told her.

"Thank goodness she at least talked to someone. Thank you George", Tracie said, leaving the room.

"Ashleigh, I'm coming under the covers", he told her. She was completely under the covers and he could tell that she was crying. He lifted up the covers and laid beside her. He tried wrapping his arms around her but she moved away.

"Please don't", she mumbled.

"Ashleigh, I don't hate you, I could never hate you. It's just as much my fault as it is yours. Look at me", he said, pulling her a little so she'd roll over and face him. Finally after a few minutes she looked at him. He wiped her tears away. "We're in this together… We will get through this together", he told her, pulling her into his chest, this time she allowed it. "I love you… Always and forever".

"Promise?" She asked. Her voice was so small and weak, it sounded like she was five years old again.

"Of course I promise", he said, kissing the top of her head.

"I love you too", Ashleigh whispered. "Always and forever".


	4. Decisions, Decisions

A month passed since Ashleigh told George about the baby. He went to her first scan with her and that's when it all became real for him. He kept looking at the moving picture of the scan the healer had given them; he couldn't believe that was a baby, _his_ baby. It was still quite small, but you could see that it was shaped like a baby at this point. They still hadn't told their families, George didn't even tell Fred. He wanted to tell his twin but he remembered back to when he first met Ashleigh and how Fred blabbed to everyone, so he didn't chance it.

"So, I was wondering when you wanted to tell the others. I don't think we can keep it a secret much longer", George asked during dinner one night, Fred had gone out with Hermione, so it was just the two of them at the flat above the joke shop.

"I know. I've been thinking about that too. I don't think my aunt will be all too pleased with me. Or you for that matter. I don't even wanna think about what your family is gonna say", Ashleigh told him, looking to the table.

"Hey, it'll be okay", he said, moving to sit beside her, from his spot on the other end of the small table. He took her hand and made her look at him. "I think my family is going to be okay with it, I know Fred will be", George told her. She nodded.

"I hope you're right", she mumbled.

"I'm pretty sure I am. But you practically live here anyway, so I was wondering if you wanted to make it official and move all of your stuff in? I already talked to Fred and he's fine with it. But that could be because he loves your cooking", George laughed at the last part.

"I dunno. I don't want you to feel obligated to live or even be with me because I'm pregnant", she told him.

"I was going to ask you before you told me about the baby, but decided not to after because you were already going through so much. And trust me, this is not me feeling obligated. It's me, wanting us to be a real family", he told her. She sat there pondering for a few minutes.

"You're sure Fred's okay with me moving in?" She asked.

"More than okay with it", they heard Fred say from the door. They hadn't heard him come in.

"How long have you been there?" George asked.

"Just opened the door and heard Ashleigh ask. Why?" He eyed them suspiciously.

"Nothing", they both said.

"There's never nothing. Especially when George has that guilty look on his face", Fred told them as he sat at the table as well.

"We can't tell you right now", George told him. Ashleigh just shook her head and put her hand on George's.

"It's okay", she whispered. "Tell him. He's gonna find out soon enough anyway".

"Are you sure?" George asked. She nodded while Fred just stared at them, wondering what the big secret was. "I will only tell you if you promise to keep it to yourself. No one can know yet", George said.

"I promise", Fred said, pretending to zip his lips and throw away the key. George nodded.

"Umm… I don't know how to phrase it", George said, scrunching up his face.

"Just say it please", Fred said. He got a little worried when he saw the look on George's face.

"Okay. How do you feel… About being an uncle?" Fred's jaw dropped.

"Y-You're p-pregnant?" He stuttered, looking at Ashleigh, who was looking down at the floor, she weakly nodded. "How?" He asked.

"Well, you see. When two people love each other", George started before getting a glare from Fred.

"I know _how_ , you prat. I meant, how could you let it happen?" Fred asked.

"It was an accident. We always used a contraceptive charm. The healer said it can go faulty sometimes if someone didn't fully concentrate when casting it", George explained. Fred nodded.

"Well, I always wanted to be an uncle and knew it would happen eventually. But I figured it would be from Bill and Fleur first", Fred said. "But I'm happy for you, if you're happy. And this is what you want".

"Ashleigh's struggling with it a bit still. But I've come to terms with it, sex has consequences and now we have to live with them. But some consequences aren't bad ones", George said. He went to his room and came out, handing the scan picture to Fred. "Here, look".

"Wow… That's incredible", Fred said in awe.

"I know. But don't let slip to anyone, not even Hermione. We haven't figured out how we're going to tell them. But it has to be soon, Ashleigh is gonna start showing", George pleaded with his eyes.

"I won't, I promise. Thank you for telling me", Fred said, hugging his brother and then Ashleigh. Ashleigh cleaned up and did the dishes.

"I have to go tell my aunt. I can't move in here without telling her first", Ashleigh told him.

"Do you want me to come?" George asked. She thought for a minute before nodding. They got into the fireplace and flooed to Tracie's.

"Hey guys", Tracie smiled, but faltered when she saw Ashleigh's face.

"I have to talk to you. But I don't think you'll like what I'm about to tell you", Ashleigh said, sitting on the couch. She eyed them suspiciously.

"What is it dear?" She asked.

"I'm moving in with George and his brother. Before you say anything, I have another reason besides the fact that I love him", Ashleigh told her. Tracie just stayed silent. "I'm pregnant", she said, looking to the floor. George was holding her hand and squeezed it slightly after she announced it. "I'm sorry", she mumbled and stood up.

"Wait", Tracie said, standing up as well. "I'm sorry. I'm just trying to absorb it. You're only 17", Tracie said.

"I'll be 18 in a couple months", she reminded her aunt, who nodded.

"Right. But are you two sure this is what you want?"

"We've thought a lot about it Miss Scott", George told her. "Fred and I make good money with the joke shop. Ashleigh doesn't need to work if she doesn't want to. I can support her and our baby".

"I'm glad to hear that. But do you guys think you're ready for everything that involves being a parent? No more sleeping all night, falling behind on household chores, just being there to take care of a tiny human being".

"I think we can do it", George told her. Ashleigh had just stood there, staring at the floor.

"Ashleigh?" Tracie asked. She jumped out of her state and looked up.

"Just thinking. I think I'm ready Aunt Tracie, I don't want my child to grow up thinking that his or her real parents didn't love them so they gave them away", Ashleigh told her.

"Okay. I just want to make sure you know what you're doing and what comes with having a baby", Tracie told them. "You both are so young, but I trust you to make your own and the right decisions", Tracie said. She gave them both a hug and went upstairs to help Ashleigh pack. "What has your family said?" Tracie asked George.

"We haven't told them yet. Except Fred. We haven't figured out how to", George told her.

"I was thinking about that actually. Maybe we should do it during Sunday dinner. The whole family will be there", Ashleigh said. "I just want to get it out there. I hate keeping secrets from them".

"If you're sure, we can definitely do that", he smiled, giving her a sweet lingering kiss. Tracie smiled.

"What?" Ashleigh asked.

"I'm just so happy that you two found each other. And I'm glad George is stepping up and being there for you through this", Tracie told her.

"Always", George smiled.

"And forever", Ashleigh finished.

They finished packing and took Ashleigh's stuff to George's flat, putting the boxes and bags in his room. Once they were done, it was late so they went right to bed.

"Welcome home", George smiled as they got under the covers.


End file.
